edvard munch activity 2

7/30/2019 Edvard Munch Activity 2

1/5

Jessica Levy

200921250

Activity 2: Your FavouriteContemporary Artist


2/5

Edvard Munch (12 December 1863- 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter andprintmaker whose powerful psychological themes were built upon some of the mainbeliefs of late 19th century symbolism and greatly influenced German Expressionism inthe early 20th century.

His family, descended from Norways cultural aristocracy but economically poor. Unable

to move freely among the educated and social lite, they experienced at the same timethe illnesses that severely impacted the Scandinavian urban working class: tuberculosisand bronchitis. Weakened after the birth of her fifth child, Edvard Munchs mother giveway to tuberculosis in 1868, as did his oldest sibling, Sophie, in 1877. After the deathsof his wife and daughter, his father suffered periodic fits of deep depression and a violenttemper, accompanied by fanatical visions of his own which had affected his survivingchildren. The constant experience of illness, hallucination, death and rejection providedthe basic shape of Edvard Munchs character. Edvard Munch [sa] stated that I was borndying, sickness, insanity and death were the dark angels standing guard at my cradleand they have followed me throughout my life. This dramatic self-representation alsogives reflective shape to his art.

Edvard Munch briefly studied engineering following his fathers wishes and after thatagainst his fathers wished he decided to study sculpture under Julius Middelthun. In1882 he rented a studio with six other artists, supervised by the painter Christian Krohg,and in autumn 1883 he attended Frits Thaulows Friluftsakademi at Modum. Munch soonadded to his academic training experiments in a semi-Impressionist Naturalism, assupported by Krohg and Thaulow in their efforts to create a national landscape stylebased on plein-airpainting and influenced by the contemporary art of Paris. This newstyle also emphasized the process of Norwegian independence from Sweden, linked withlegislative liberalism and ideas of radical social reform. In 1882 Munch took part in theorganization of the first Hstutstilling, Hstutstilling was held as a radical protest againstthe established middle class dominance in Christiania Kunstforening and that it wouldnot let an artist jury decide the purchases for the association's annual exhibition and tobe free of the Norwegian Kunstforenings sponsorship and censorship; as subject-matter

the artists exhibiting selected the life of the urban poor in addition to Norwegianlandscapes.

His symbolist and expressionist works have a deeply personal connection with me. Myart allows me to express myself in ways I could not describe in words. Although manypeople have dealt with certain situations as Edvard Munch has, I have some similaritiesto him I have come into situations such as loss, illness, constant disappointment,financial struggles, depression and close to death situations. I find in the way he hasdealt with many situations I have dealt with in a similar way. I see myself as fighting mydepression through my art work, I see my art work as well as his as away to say how wefeel through art whether its painting, printing or digital etc. I feel that Munch exploredhis emotions through his paint brush. Id like to think that of myself.

As I analyse The Cry or The Scream (1893) Munch expresses feelings of despair,anguish, fear and many other mixed emotions. The central figure seems to have itshands over its ears screaming or crying as its being screamed at. In the distance you seeto figures walking away. In my opinion the figure seems to be screaming as I think thathe feels that everyone has left him. The scenery is of a sunset over a body of water. Ithink that the anxiety of being alone influenced him to paint this.The Cry or TheScreamwas painted using tempera and pastel on board. The brush strokes cause thescene to appear to swirl, giving it a sense of motion. (See figure 1)

In one of my painting I shall call for now The blue angel influenced by The Screamthere is an elongated figure in the centre. She is hunched over holding her head, in a

crying position. There is a light shade in her centre giving a sense of her regainingstrength. Her wings are multi coloured symbolizing strength even though she is in pain.She is sitting on a roof or a walkway, a symbol of being left by herself or a symbol of her


3/5


4/5

Figure 1: The Scream or The Cry EdvardMunch

Figure 2


5/5

Britannica, Edvard Munch Norwegian Artist. [Online] Available at:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/397389/Edvard-Munch.[Accessed 2012/08/02].

Frank Hifdt, Biography of Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:

http://users.skynet.be/lotus/art/munch-en.htm. [Accessed 2012/08/03].

Lotus, 2012.A Being Under Influences. [Online] Available at:

http://users.skynet.be/lotus/art/munch-en.htm. [Accessed 2012/08/02].

MoMa, 2009. Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:

http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=4164. [Accessed2012/08/02].

Rene Cerney, 2010. Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:

http://www.edvardmunch.info/. [Accessed 2012/08/03].

Roman Jaster, 2000. Background of Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:

http://www.edvard-munch.com/backg/index.htm. [Accessed 2012/08/03].

Tate Gallery, 2012. Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/edvard-munch-

modern-eye. [Accessed 2012/08/02].

Unknown, Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Munch. [Accessed 2012/08/02].

Britannica, Edvard Munch Norwegian Artist. [Online] Available at:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/397389/Edvard-Munch.

[Accessed 2012/08/02].

Frank Hifdt, Biography of Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:http://users.skynet.be/lotus/art/munch-en.htm. [Accessed 2012/08/03].

Lotus, 2012.A Being Under Influences. [Online] Available at:http://users.skynet.be/lotus/art/munch-en.htm. [Accessed 2012/08/02].

Tate Gallery, 2012. Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/edvard-munch-modern-eye. [Accessed 2012/08/02].

Unknown, Edvard Munch. [Online] Available at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Munch. [Accessed 2012/08/02].

edvard munch activity 2

Documents